http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/01/doe-clears-wind-project-off-new-jersey-coast-through-its-enviro-review-process.html
[links in on-line article]
DOE Clears Wind Project Off New Jersey Coast Through Its Enviro Review
Process
January 11, 2016
By Barry Cassell
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Jan. 6 released both a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) and final Environmental Assessment (EA) on
the Fishermen's Atlantic City Windfarm project, to be located in waters
off of New Jersey.
Based upon the EA, DOE has determined that authorizing the expenditure
of federal funding to Fishermen's Atlantic City Windfarm LLC to
construct and operate up to six wind turbine generators, for an offshore
wind demonstration project, approximately 2.8 nautical miles off the
coast of Atlantic City, N.J., would not be a major federal action
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the
meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act. Therefore, an
environmental impact statement is not required, and DOE is issuing the
Finding of No Significant Impact.
In February 2011, DOE released the National Offshore Wind Strategy, in
partnership with the Department of the Interior (DOI). The strategy
includes and addresses two critical objectives in pursuit of overcoming
barriers to commercial offshore wind development in the U.S.:
Reducing the cost of energy through technology development to
ensure competitiveness with other electrical generation sources; and
Reducing deployment timelines and uncertainties limiting US
offshore wind project development.
In March 2012, DOE issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to
provide support for regionally diverse Advanced Technology Demonstration
Projects through collaborative partnerships. By providing funding,
technical assistance and government coordination to accelerate
deployment of these demonstration projects, DOE helps eliminate
uncertainties, mitigate risks, and support the private sector in
creating a robust U.S. offshore wind energy industry.
Initially, seven applicants were selected by DOE for negotiation of
award under the FOA. The awards were divided into five distinct budget
periods. Upon completion of budget period one, DOE conducted a
down-select decision, whereby only three of the seven applicants will be
eligible for funding for budget periods two through five. Fishermen’s
Atlantic City Windfarm (FACW) was one of three projects selected by DOE.
This proposed project would consist of up to six wind turbine generators
that would generate up to approximately 25 MW of electricity and the
necessary electrical transmission facilities (i.e., undersea and
underground cable) to connect the wind farm to an existing electrical
substation, located in Atlantic City, for interconnection to the
regional power grid. Electrical power generated would be sold to the
market through the state’s energy regulating agency, the Board of Public
Utilities (BPU), or directly to a large independent power consumer.
FACW started the various state and federal permitting processes for
their offshore wind farm in 2009. State and federal agency consultation
has been completed as part of permitting. To date, all required state
and federal permits have been obtained for the offshore wind farm, the
final EA noted.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) prepared an EA as part of its
permitting process. During the permit review, the USACE received
concurrence under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act from the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. The
USACE also coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard regarding issues
related to navigation, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
regarding air quality, and Federal Aviation Administration regarding
aviation safety.
The project has been modified since issuance of the Army permit, and DOE
is reviewing the entire scope of the modified project; USACE is only
reviewing those portions of the original project that have been
modified. The USACE issued a public notice for the proposed permit
modification in February 2015.
Construction would be supported by a construction staging area(s) and a
construction port. Onshore support facilities would be located at
existing waterfront industrial or commercial sites in the cities of
Camden, N.J., and Atlantic City.
Each turbine would have a nameplate capacity of no more than 5 MW and a
blade rotor diameter of no more than 427 feet. The turbine array would
be oriented in one row parallel to the coastline running northeast to
southwest. Spacing between the turbines would be approximately 3,543
feet. Each of the wind turbines would be supported by a jacket-type
foundation, consisting of steel pipe piles for anchoring into the
seabed, and a steel center caisson onto which the transition piece and
turbine tower would be installed.
The inter-array transmission cable from each turbine would be linked to
the export cable that would make landfall at a point in Atlantic City,
and then continue underground to the existing Huron Substation, located
along Absecon Avenue.
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